Geno Says Good Riddance To Schools Fleeing Big East

Geno Auriemma has watched the erosion of the Big East from the sidelines, just another innocent bystander knowing that there really was nothing he could do to stop it or influence it.

As Pittsburgh, Syracuse, West Virginia, Notre Dame, Rutgers and Louisville left for other conferences, Auriemma has slowly stewed about how disingenuous it all seems, even though he's aware that Connecticut would have also joined any conference, had anyone asked.

But last week, when the conference's seven Catholic schools, all without Division I-A football, announced that they were also going, the coach's patience wore out.

Auriemma was in no mood Tuesday to wish the schools bolting the Big East good luck and safe travels. And he didn't hold back his thoughts about what this means for his school, now and in the future.

"I hope they all leave tomorrow," Auriemma said. "But they can't, because we have to play out the (2012-13) schedule.

"But as soon as it's over, let them go and do what they need to do, just like Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia did. West Virginia did it the right way. They said they didn't want to be in the Big East any more and said, 'See you later, I'm out of here.'

"I hope they all take that approach."

As currently planned, the departure of DePaul, Marquette, St. John's, Villanova, Seton Hall, Providence and Georgetown would not occur until the 2015-16 season, following the mandatory 27-month waiting period to avoid paying an exit fee to the Big East.

West Virginia bolted immediately to the Big 12 after last season. Pittsburgh and Syracuse will join the ACC next season. And there is still no indication when Notre Dame (ACC), Louisville (ACC) and Rutgers (Big Ten) will go, although most suspect that the Fighting Irish will depart after this season.

Auriemma said he thinks that the Catholic schools stayed in the Big East until there was no more money left in it for them, thanks to the uncertainty of how much a major network would pay to affiliate with a stripped-down version of the conference.

"Everyone has their own ideas and theories. Everyone wants to live in a nostalgic world where, as Garrison Keillor said, all the women are strong, all the men are good looking and all the children are above average.

"Everyone wants to live in the place where the nine original schools of the Big East are all together and will play against each other forever. Then football became the driving vehicle. You are either at the table with the big boys or you are not.

"The Catholic schools did a really good thing. They stayed at the table for as long as it took them to make as much money as they could. And once they saw all the money running out, they decided to go play somewhere else. Had some of them managed to vote appropriately over the last 10 years (as Big East conference members with a say on rights' fees), we wouldn't be in the situation we are now.

"They did what was best for them, just like a lot of Catholic schools do. They like to say the state schools are the big bad guys. I've heard my share of that in my time in the conference (28 years)."